For the longest time I have been thinking about writing this post and finally decided to let it fly.

There is so much youth and energy in our sport. I am so stoked to see it. Windsurfing will be here for future generations to enjoy. It has not been "canceled".

So let's take a stab at what guessing what gear will be like in the future. Say 25 years from now? Fifty years from now? Let's just try to think out of the box about how gear, and possibly its interface with technology, will evolve.

1. Gear specialized to get a rider fully tubed at big wave locations. Might involve a board that can allow the rider to change stance and a sail that can change its rake to facilitate getting into the barrel and out again.
2. Micro-electronics controlling the fins. How about dynamic rake? Anti-cavitation? Twisting in ways that accelerate turning? How about just multi-material fins? About twelve years ago there was someone at Ho'okipa experimenting with fins that had a trailing edge made out of rubber. As you turned the pressure on the rubber made it act like a little rudder accelerating the turn - or so the theory went. What ever happened with that?
3. Boards with no fins. What could a freestyler do? To get an idea what is possible check this game-changer out. https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=xfLuIZVxPT0#! Windsurfing has got to be able to learn something from this!
4. Masts that are neither round nor straight. I had a Rotho Slalom back in '87 that wasn't straight. (Fiberglass and weighed a ton!) How about a mast with a leading edge and a trailing edge? What if the asymmetry effected aerodynamics and sail design. (Speed sailors probably already have this and I just don't know about it.)
5. One piece booms that are as stiff as can be. (Man I hate any flex in my booms.) For that matter how about a one-piece boom and mast combo. Ultimate energy transfer between sailor and rig.
6. Mast bases that are not straight. I bent one once mid-session at Waddell. Had a great day! Came in and saw that the extension was bent - raked back a few degrees and slightly off center towards starboard. The effect was when I was going out through the surf the sail was automatically raked back and sheeted in a bit. Maybe added a little power to get over the whitewater?
7. Sails with no "conventional" battens. How about new use of materials and tension that create superior shape under the slightest load from the wind?
8. Boards that are asymmetric in hull design. I don't mean a re-introduction of the "can opener" but entire hull shapes that are specialized for certain styles/locations. Like boards that are designed only to go down-the-line right bottom-turning on the starboard rail and hitting the lip with the port-side rail. Unlike the can openers of yesteryear, the asymmetry would be more subtle and elegant. I had a board shaped like this for me a few years back. Port-side rail was a little softer than the starboard. Can't say if my first idea was all that successful, but If I could afford to have a shaper build me lots and lots of boards for R&D I bet I could come up with something that suited my style (or lack thereof).
9. Boards that somehow allow water to flow through them from nose to tail like a hydrodynamic ramjet. I know I am going out on a limb on this one but I'm at number nine and running out of ideas.
10. More stuff with micro-electronics!!! Like I said, I'm out of ideas.

Can't wait to hear what ideas people have. Maybe together we can crowdsource the next big thing.

Hope everyone is having a blast this spring. Remember to support the AWT.

Me thinks that the next step in sail technology is better battens. We are starting to see 3 battens sails and this might become the norm soon: 3 main battens and 1-2 smaller battens.
Board tech should evolve at some point but it's going to be a while. Shapes aren't going to change drastically for the most part.
We're in an era where all wave sails work well; all sails manufacturers know how their design works. Only new materials will allow research to go on.
this year I am not looking forward for any new 2014 gear. the 4 battens sails needs refining, but boards are all pretty great as they mostly fit a certain sailing style or fit a particular sets of conditions. No more silly denomination like the "wave-slalom" of the 90's. (though if brands could kill the "freestyle-wave" that would be great)._________________www.sqyc.org

Some sort of new sail material that is breathable when needed.
This is a takeoff of an old silly idea I had about 30 years ago. A venetian blind installed into the middle of the sail that you could open up when you get overpowered.
But a totally new sail material could possibly do the same thing, when the pressure becomes too great, it begins to breath away the excess w/o you having to sheet out and/or head up wind to dump the excess power.
This way you could drastically cut down the number of sails in your quiver._________________I don't drink the 'cool' aid, I drink tequila, it's more honest.

Actually, Dimitri Milovich beat you to this one by more than 30 years.
Inventer of the wing mast that Fred Haywood used to break the 30 knot
barrier. And if you think Jake Burton invented the Snowboard, you might
want to look Dimitri up on the web. A brilliant and humble man, it is
my great pleasure to count him among my friends.

-Craig

p.s. current sail technology has made this idea somewhat obsolete.

p.p.s. we've done this before, but current Micro Processor technology
could easily adjust outhaul and downhaul, under dynamic load for
perfect tuning at all times. You could even have different settings optimized
for your specific type sailing. Send me a $250,000 grant and I'll design
you up a prototype.

p.p.p.s. there are materials available now that become more or less flexible
when current is passed through them. That will probably be the future
in 50 years, rather than outhaul and downhaul. Send me a Mil, and I'll
do the research for ya.

;*)

Jaipal wrote:

4. Masts that are neither round nor straight. I had a Rotho Slalom back in '87 that wasn't straight. (Fiberglass and weighed a ton!) How about a mast with a leading edge and a trailing edge? What if the asymmetry effected aerodynamics and sail design. (Speed sailors probably already have this and I just don't know about it.)-J

Last edited by cgoudie1 on Mon Apr 29, 2013 10:35 am; edited 2 times in total

No more harness lines or hook, instead it's an invisible "tractor beam" that goes from an emitter in the booms to a receiver that you wear around your waist.
Of course it can be turned off and on instantly, and adjusted on the fly, by just thinking of what you want or need. _________________I don't drink the 'cool' aid, I drink tequila, it's more honest.

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